Rare coin collection worth $46K lost in Indy

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INDIANAPOLIS - A collection of 10 rare coins is missing after a Wisconsin collector brought them to Indianapolis for appraisal, police said.

The collector took the 10 coins -- valued at about $46,000 total -- to Mascari Auction Company on the city's south side to be appraised, but he never saw his collection again.

The auction house told investigators they sent the coins to an independent appraiser to have them valued, but a courier who was hired to bring the coins back to Mascari never showed.

The courier, who is shown on video picking the coins up from the independent appraiser, said he returned them to Mascari, but the auction house denies ever getting the collection back.

The coins in the collection date back to 1795, and the most valuable coin is thought to be worth approximately $13,000.

The collector said he planned to sell the coins at auction and use the funds to buy a SWAT vehicle for the Wisconsin police department where his son works.

The coin collector said he plans to take legal action, meaning the courier could end up in criminal court while Mascari Auction Company could end up in civil court.

Tom Mascari, the owner of the auction house, told RTV6 reporter Jack Rinehart that he's done business with this particular collector before, and they have a good working relationship. Mascari said he would make the situation right before it came to the point of legal action.

"This will never reach the point of a lawsuit," he said. "I've never run from a problem in my life. We'll do the right thing for the collector and make the loss good if we have to."

All of the coins are packaged in hard plastic cases that have serial numbers on them.

Copyright 2014 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.